Life has Changed Episode 1
by Darkfire Galaxy
Summary: Sequel to It all has to End. If you haven't read that, I suggest you go and read that first. Otherwise, you won't understand any of this. Max's rewind power is backfiring, and she had to try and find out what's happening while in hospital. Will be ChloeXRachel (Don't know the couple name. Sorry.) Also some Pricefield here and there.
1. Chapter 1: Backfire

Life has Changed

Chapter 1

 **Author's Note: This is the sequel to It all has to End. If you haven't read that, you really need to check it out first or else you won't understand this one. Hope you enjoy. Please remember to review.**

Max sat in Chloe Price's house wondering what the hell happened. She remembered the tornado passing the cliff and pulling her and Jefferson into it, and she knew he'd been obliterated from history; but beyond that there was very little she knew or remembered.

"Is everything okay there, Max?" a woman asked in an unmistakable southern accent. Max looked up to see Chloe's mother, Joyce Madsen, standing in the doorway with bags of shopping.

"Hey there Joyce, how are you doing?" Max asked as she stood up to help her with the bags.

"I'm doing even better now that we know you're safe, Max." Joyce said. "David's really sorry you and Chloe had to go through what happened at the school. He's at his counselling appointment right now, but I think he wants to talk to the pair of you later."

"David doesn't have anything to be sorry for." Max replied. "He did his job by coming when Chloe raised the alarm and he's getting counselling for his paranoia. You can really see he's trying to make amends."

"That's as maybe, Max; but I would just humour him. I've said the same thing to Chloe. If he feels he's carrying a burden, he won't stop feeling guilty for it. Now, are you hungry at all?"

"Oh god, I've been dreaming of your bacon with waffles and syrup." Max realised she hadn't eaten a thing since breakfast.

"Help me with these bags and I'll fix you something to eat." Joyce said as she went to pass a bag to Max. Just as she extended her hand, the handle snapped and sent the bag crashing to the floor. Joyce barely suppressed a curse as pieces of broken egg started to spill out from the bag. The egg white leaked all over the carpet and soaked in as it locked deep within the fibres, staining it permanently.

'Oh, crap; Joyce always loved that carpet.' Max thought to herself. 'Maybe if I rewind I can take the bag from the underside and stop this from happening.' As Joyce bent down to pick the bag up, Max extended her hand and focused on turning back time. Instantly a pain crashed through her head. Blood poured from her nose as she dropped to the floor screaming in agony. Joyce was by her side in an instant. The last thing she remembered was Joyce screaming her name and shaking her shoulder desperately.

Max jolted awake to find she had a splitting headache. She looked out the sliding glass doors to see black night and starlight.

"Max, you're awake!" Chloe shouted ecstatically, wrapping her arms around her. Max cringed at the volume of her voice and Rachel cuffed Chloe round the back of the head.

"Do you think she needs your racket right now, Chloe? Look at the way she's holding her head, she's clearly in pain!"

"Sorry." Chloe muttered. "How are you doing?" Max looked herself over to find her T-shirt and cardigan drenched with blood. Just as she was about to reply, she heard a knock at the door. Joyce hurried downstairs to answer it.

"Can you help me sit up?" Max asked, trying to keep her words from just becoming an incoherent mess. Chloe gently eased her up a bit while Rachel supported her head. As she fumbled to get into a more comfortable position, Joyce led someone into the room.

"Max, this is Doctor Price." Joyce said, gesturing to the man next to her. "He's my brother who has agreed to see you as a personal favour for absolutely free."

"I don't need a doctor." Max couldn't hide the lethargy in her speech as she struggled to stay awake.

"He's my uncle Ian. Be nice." Chloe said.

"Max, you don't go having an episode like that and then turn round and say you don't need a doctor." The stern edge in Joyce's words knocked the fight right out of Max. The doctor held his hand out to her. As she lifted her hand up to try and shake it, her arm started trembling. The harder she tried to lift it, the more it shook.

"Is lifting your arm too much effort?" the doctor asked. Max tried to nod, but she couldn't even do that properly.

"It really hurts." Max managed to say before a trickle of blood ran from her nose. Ian turned to Joyce.

"I'm going to need tissues and a lot of water over here." He said. "We have to keep her hydrated."

"Chloe, get Uncle Ian the box of tissues from the table." Joyce called from the kitchen where she was filling a massive jug of water.

"Rachel, call an ambulance." Ian instructed.

"It's not that bad." Max stuttered, the pain in her head getting worse as she talked.

"We'll let a CT scan decide that." Ian said firmly. Max was getting desperate. She couldn't end up in a hospital. That was out of the question. If she rewound, she could steel herself this time and pretend it wasn't as bad. Slowly, Max focused on rewinding again. Instantly, the pain returned with a vengeance. The blood poured from her nose again as her hands flew to her head. Max expected shards of her skull to come away in her hands when she let go. Suddenly, she realised what was going on. Her rewind power was backfiring. In the distance, she felt Chloe's hand on her back and heard her voice somewhere in the void of darkness.

"Please be okay, Max. I've only just got you back. I can't lose you now." The darkness closed in on Max to a point where she felt as though she were suffocating. Just as she lost consciousness again, an unknown voice chilled her to the bone.

" _This is not your grave. But you are welcome in it_." With that, the darkness pulled Max under, drowning her into sleep.

 **Author's Note:** **Sorry** **this is so short. I have several of the other chapters written, so I will be updating soon. They get longer, I promise.**


	2. Chapter 2: Awakening

Chapter 2

The steady beeping had an almost hypnotising quality to it. That quality was quickly lost when the antiseptic smell hit Max like a punch. She jolted awake only to register a severe pain in her head and a pressure on her chest. Chloe Price was sitting by her bed, bent forward with her head crushing Max's right boob as she slept soundly.

As she snored peacefully, Max looked at herself and realised she was in a hospital gown. Her face went red with indescribable rage and embarrassment as she realised that someone had stripped and re-dressed her while she was out for the count. Could they not have waited until she woke up and given her some privacy to change in peace?

"How do you feel?" Max's head snapped downwards to see Chloe picking herself up and straightening her spine with a series of audible cracks and clicks.

"You drooled on me!" Max cringed as she noticed a clear patch spreading on the chest area of her white hospital gown.

"Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Chloe looked absolutely mortified.

"And how are we feeling today, miss Caulfield?" a nurse asked as she walked in

"What do you mean 'today'?" Max asked as she looked to see a window in the corner of the room with sunlight streaming through it.

"She's literally just woken up." Chloe explained.

"Oh, so she won't know yet then." The nurse nodded. "Shall I give you a couple of minutes to break it to her?"

"Would that be okay?" Chloe asked.

"Of course it would. I have patients to tend to in the next room anyway." She left and shut the door, leaving Chloe and Max alone.

"Okay, I know this is going to be hard to believe, but you've been out for two days." Chloe told Max.

"Wait, that means I'm missing class!" Max tried to spring out of bed, only to be grabbed and held down by Chloe. As much as Max struggled, Chloe held her there like it was nothing. The two backfires had weakened her immensely.

"Cool it, Max. Principle Wells was told just as they rushed you in here. David phoned him as soon as the ambulance showed up. He's said that if need be, then you can pause where you are in class and pick it up again when it comes around next year. I'm not going to lie, this is serious stuff."

"Is there any chance I'll be here long enough to have to stop my studies this year?" Max asked, the truth of the matter hitting home.

"There could potentially be." Chloe told her. "You had another two nosebleeds in the ambulance. You've not had any since getting here though, touch wood." Chloe reached out and tapped Max on the head. "They want to do CT and MRI scans so they can see what's going on, but they thought it would be better if they waited until you were awake."

"I don't know why they bothered with that." Max seethed. "They already stripped me off and put me in a gown!"

"I know you probably feel violated; but if it makes you feel any better at all, I demanded on your behalf that there were only female practitioners in the room when it happened." Chloe told her.

"Thanks, but it really doesn't." Max grumbled.

"Look, all I can say is that this is the best place for you now." Chloe said. Something inside Max felt a sting at that. "Rachel and I will visit you often, and we'll also play Rumour Control at Blackwell so no one starts gossip about you being absent due to an unplanned pregnancy or something. That said, it'll be a lot easier once we have some solid knowledge about what's actually going on."

"I think I may know." Max told her. "But I can't be sure until those tests are done. There's something I need to tell you, but now isn't the time. I feel to crap to bother with it for a start."

"Take all the time you need." Chloe said. "By the way, your little incident made me think about how little I was doing with my life, so I've literally just booked myself in for drugs rehab sessions for minor addicts. With a bit of luck, I can get off the grass totally in a few months."

"Chloe, that's brilliant." Max tried to sound enthusiastic, but all she could manage was a lethargic groan. "If I had the energy right now, I'd kiss you."

"What Rachel doesn't know won't hurt her." Chloe said cheekily before leaning in. She was about to kiss Max, but she raised a finger to her lips and stopped her.

"I really wouldn't." Max advised. "My breath tastes of stale blood right now."

"We'll save it for later then." Chloe winked before getting up and walking to the door just as the nurse reappeared "See you later, gorgeous." With that, she slipped through the door and left Max alone with the nurse. She stepped into the main corridor only to come face-to-face with Rachel.

"So, what's this about you trying to kiss her?" she asked. "I saw everything."

"Rachel, she's suffering from something that could potentially be fatal. I think she can be allowed a few luxuries." Chloe defended. "What, are you getting jealous?" With that, Chloe grabbed Rachel by the back of the head and kissed her. It lasted for about three minutes until a nurse walked by and told them to act their ages before kicking them out on their backsides. They picked themselves up, gathered their dignity and left the hospital in Chloe's truck.

"Where are we going now?" Rachel asked.

"First and foremost, we're going to Blackwell to keep the gossip in check." Chloe told her. "Before that though, I have something important to do."

The pair rode in silence for about fifteen minutes before they pulled up by the junkyard. Once they were there, Chloe got out and started walking. Rachel moved to follow, but Chloe stopped her.

"What are you even trying to do?" Rachel asked.

"Just trust me. This is something I have to do myself." Chloe replied. "I'll tell you once it's done." As Rachel nodded and pulled herself back into the passenger seat, Chloe walked to the small stream at the edge of the junkyard. It was so small that the current was inaudible, but she knew it would be enough.

Reaching into her back pocket, she pulled out her bag of grass. If the current didn't wash it away, it would render it useless. Either way, she was going to force herself to go without until her rehab session that night. It was only a few hours to go and she knew it would be a stretch, but she was determined to do it. If not for herself, she was going to do it for Max and Rachel. Max had only just stumbled back into her life, and now there was a very real possibility she could be snatched away again. Chloe's life had changed twice in the space of twenty-four hours. She couldn't do much to help Max except try and ease things for her, and the best way to do that would be to make her happy by giving up the drugs.

Her hands shaking, Chloe let go of the bag. There was no turning back by that point. The bag hit the water with a small splash and was carried away. Reaching into her breast pocket on her shirt, she pulled out her packet of cigarettes as well. She propped the cardboard flap open and dropped it horizontally into the stream. The water instantly flooded the packet and ruined them. Even if she wanted to, there would be no point in retrieving them as she watched them being carried away.

Rachel had shifted into the driver seat so she could recline back in it and doze while Chloe did whatever she was doing since the passenger seat mechanism was broken. She jolted awake to a tap on the window and shifted back into her own seat so Chloe could get back in. She hit the catch, causing the seat to spring back into place. Chloe made herself comfortable before starting the engine and pulling away.

"What was it you had to do?" Rachel asked.

"I'll tell you when we get back on the road." Chloe said as she headed for the exit. "Let's just get to Blackwell."


	3. Chapter 3: Blackwell

Chapter 3

The girls pulled up at Blackwell with Rachel still glaring at Chloe.

"I still can't believe you've pulled a stunt like this!" Rachel fumed. "Do you have any idea how dangerous a serious withdrawal like this can be?"

"It's just a few hours, Rachel." Chloe assured her. "When I get to rehab, they'll give me a prescription for the substitute anyway. They already assured me of that over the phone. I just want to be able to start strong so that I have a greater likelihood of finishing in the first place." Chloe got out and walked over to Rachel's door before holding it open for her to get out.

"Thanks." Rachel muttered.

"I'm forever at your service, my princess." Chloe said elaborately as she curtsied. Just as they started walking towards the school, two familiar figures ran out to greet them. Principle Wells was hurrying across the path to the school with David Madsen bringing up the rear. The principle practically landed in a heap at their feet. His face was flushed from the overexertion of the short run. David hadn't even broken a sweat. After about two minutes of frantic panting, the principle was able to talk.

"It's good to see you, girls. Is there any news on Miss Caulfield?"

"She's awake now. Other than that, we don't really know much." Rachel told him.

"May I ask what actually happened?" Principle Wells asked. "Is there anything you can tell me that won't breach patient confidentiality that I can put on Max's file regarding the absence?"

"The doctors want to do CT and MRI scans." Chloe said. "I would wait for some results before you go writing anything up. Shouldn't Max be the primary concern instead of her file anyway? What are we doing with regards to her?"

"Miss Price, 'we' aren't doing anything. I intend to have a school photo taken and scanned onto a card for the whole school to sign, write up a report of what needs to happen with regards to her education, deal with the resulting paperwork and still find time to notify her parents what's happened!" For the first time, Chloe saw Principle Wells' expression shift to anger.

"You still haven't told her parents yet? I did that nearly two days ago when it first happened." Chloe knew she should stop, but she just couldn't. Wells wasn't feeling anything towards Max herself, only the paperwork this incident would dump on his desk.

"How am I supposed to talk to them about what's happened? I barely know anything about it myself?" Principle Wells had to stop to take a swig from a hip flask. Something inside Chloe and Rachel cringed. It was one thing for them to drown their troubles with alcohol, but this guy was in charge of a whole school. He had nearly seven-hundred pupils to watch over.

"Chloe, what are you doing here anyway?" David asked.

"I'm allowed to drop my girlfriend back." Chloe said bluntly.

"Actually Miss Price, since you were expelled from this school for drugs usage, I could ban you from campus entirely. Speak to me like that again, and I just might do that." Now Wells was on the offensive. Chloe was about to reply when a yell from behind distracted them.

"This is for the Prescotts!" someone screamed as they smashed Chloe's back window out with a crowbar.

"What the hell are you doing?" Chloe screamed storming over.

"Nathan got sixteen years for selling drugs to students and having a concealed gun because of you!" the boy shouted. Just then, David grabbed the boy from behind and disarmed the boy of the crowbar.

"Get home, Chloe. I don't want you being a target." David said as he frogmarched the boy away.

"Just let me sort this broken window out first." Chloe called over the sound of the boy screaming about how girls like her needed to die and what a stain on humanity she was. David nodded as he disappeared into the building. Chloe and Rachel climbed into the back of the pickup truck and Chloe grabbed a hammer from the toolbox in the back.

"Why do they call this 'safety glass'? It really isn't." Rachel muttered as she helped Chloe push out the glass. Sharp glittery cubes rained all over the back.

"It'll be fine." Chloe said. "All I need is a vacuum cleaner and a new piece of glass.

"Do you mind if I go home with you tonight?" Rachel asked. If you're a target, that means I might become one for being your girlfriend."

"Rachel, I could never mind an opportunity to sleep with you." Chloe replied. "Get in the truck. We'll just have to be careful driving home." Rachel kissed her briefly before jumping into the passenger seat.

"Have a safe journey, girls." Principle Wells said. Chloe could tell he was clearly glad to see them gone. He watched her pull out and disappear down the road; not going back inside until they were well away.

Chloe and Rachel arrived at Chloe's house an hour later. Chloe parked up next to David's old pickup truck which he was just about to finish fixing up.

"I'm tempted to go into the house and see if Joyce is okay." Rachel said. "She's clearly freaked out by what happened to Max."

"I'll be up soon." Chloe said as something caught her eye. Intrigued, she climbed into the back of her pickup truck and grabbed her tape measure from her toolbox.

"So, do you love Max then?" Rachel asked.

"What?" The question caught Chloe totally off guard.

"Chloe, I see the way you look at her. You really love her don't you?" A gloomy expression crossed Rachel's face.

"Rachel, I love Max like the sister I never had." Chloe told her. "When my dad die- left us, she tried her hardest to pick me back up. It wasn't her fault her mum and dad moved away with her to Seattle. I've literally just found her and now she might be snatched away from me again. I'm not just going to stand by and let it happen." As Chloe talked, she held the tape to the edges of her back window. Rachel nodded and left, feeling like an idiot for ever doubting Chloe. Once Chloe was sure she was gone, she sauntered to the other end of the garage before climbing into the back of David's truck and holding the tape to the back window, before giving off a low whistle and nodding slightly to herself.


	4. Chapter 4: Reborn

Chapter 4

Max awoke the next morning to see two worried faces looking at her.

"How are you, Maxine?" her mother asked worriedly. Max looked over to see a Get Well Soon card perched next to a massive bunch of flowers "Oh, those are from that lovely boy who visited earlier." Max's mother said. "I think his name was Wally or something?"

"It was Warren, Vanessa." Max's dad told her.

"Oh, I do apologise, Ryan. Our daughter is in the hospital but God forbid I'm allowed to forget the name of someone I've never even met before!"

"Okay, you two. This is making my head hurt." Max groaned as she rolled onto her side and grabbed the card before reading it.

'Get well soon, Max.

Love you...

Warren. X'

"God you're brilliant, Warren." Max muttered as she put the card back on the table and breathed in the scent of the flowers.

"You're right, Max. We all need to stay calm." Vanessa said, giving her husband a pointed look.

"Just shut up and come here." Max said, wrapping both her parents in a lopsided hug.

"How have you been?" Vanessa asked.

"My head feels like it's about to explode." Max answered truthfully. Even her voice sounded weak. She knew that if she tried to lie her parents would see straight through her in a heartbeat. There was no honest point.

"What have they put you on so far?" Vanessa asked.

"They haven't yet." Max replied. "They don't know what's wrong yet, and some types of medication could kill the pain but just make the condition worse. It's a bit of a minefield." In reality, Max knew the real reason behind the nosebleeds and blackouts, but if she told the truth they'd have her committed. She would just have to play along for now and get out of the hospital as quick as possible so she could get answers for herself.

"Have they actually done anything in the way of tests yet?" Ryan asked.

"No, I haven't been able to stay awake long enough." Max told him. "They don't want to do tests while I'm unconscious in case something goes wrong." Vanessa was about to say something when they were cut off by raised voices outside the door.

"But what do you mean by 'anything and everything'?" one voice asked.

"I mean exactly what I say!" Ian's voice snapped. "When I say 'test for anything and everything', you test for everything from the common cold to Chlamydia or the Black Death! As many known diseases as possible, I want Miss Caulfield's blood tested for! And just in case you're unclear, when I say constant updates it means that if she so much as sneezes then I want to know about it at least ten seconds in advance!" Someone's running footsteps echoed down the hall as Ian pushed the door open.

"Good evening, Doctor Price." Vanessa said, her voice dripping venom.

"I'm not sure how much of that you could hear..."

"Oh, we heard all of it." Ryan muttered.

"I can't believe the facilities here!" Ian ranted and pulled up a chair to sit by Max's bed. "The 'doctors' don't know the basic medical terms for anything or any form of infection protocols. When we brought you in here, Max, they wanted to put you in with the other girls. Can you believe that? In your state, we can't have you catching whatever they have, and we don't want what you've got spreading if it's contagious. I doubt it is, but I don't want to take that chance."

"Doctor Price, what are you actually doing regarding my daughter's health?" Vanessa asked in her venomous tone.

"We're doing full blood work now and then it'll be CT and MRI scans." Ian told her. "But personally, I'd like her to be transferred to the hospital in Seattle where I work. I'm familiar with the doctor's there and frankly I can vouch for their competence a lot better than the staff here."

"I think that would be best." Vanessa nodded. "We live in Seattle, so we can visit every day."

"No thanks." Max said. Everyone turned to look at her in shock.

"You want to stay here?" Vanessa asked. "But we won't be able to visit very often."

"Not to mention the doctors here are intolerable." Ian chipped in. "You really want to leave your life in their hands?"

"To tell you the truth, I hated Seattle since we moved there." Max said to Vanessa. "The scenery isn't anywhere as beautiful as Arcadia Bay. There's never a good moment to take photos. Not to mention, Chloe and I have only just found each other again. She's worried I'll die and leave her behind, and that gives me a reason to survive. If I get moved away from her, it would just go against that and her. She's promised to visit every day and she's one of the best friends I've ever had."

"I can vouch for that much." Ian said. "When Max was brought in, Chloe sat by her bed each night and was there on the morning she woke up. That girl's been through some rough times, but she's a damn good friend in spite of it all."

"So it's official then? You want to stay here?" Ryan asked to make sure.

"I'd rather be here with the sun streaming through my window and birds singing outside than in Seattle where the closest thing you have to birds is car horns and the only sun through your window is being reflected off the skyscraper next door." Max nodded.

"In that case, we'll check into a hotel and apply for compassionate leave from work." Vanessa said immediately.

"If we're doing that, we'd best get moving before the hotel reception shuts." Ryan suggested.

"I agree." Vanessa nodded. "We'll see you tomorrow, Max." She and Ryan left, shaking Ian's hand as they left.

"Okay Max, I need to sort this blood work out now." Ian told her as he pulled out something that looked like a buzzer from Deal or No Deal only smaller. "This button connects straight to my pager and I've set the contact holder to your room number. If something's wrong, just press that and I'll personally come running."

"Okay, thanks." Max said as she put it on her bedside table.

"Just call me if you need anything." Ian said before departing. Max heard him walk down the corridor and was about to try and go back to sleep when an invisible battering ram smashed into her skull. Blood flowed freely from her nose at an alarmingly fast rate as everything around her started spinning.

' _How is this happening? I'm not even rewinding_!' Max made a frantic grab for the button only to knock it off the table. Cursing, Max made a grab for it only to find the battery compartment had flown open. There were no batteries in it. As Max prayed for a quick end to this torture, the darkness swallowed her again.

She opened her eyes to find herself in s swirling dark void. Standing in the centre was one lone figure. She made her way towards it, only for it to suddenly lunge forward. Instinctively, Max raised her hand to rewind. Pain started crashing through her head again, but the figure stopped dead. Cautiously, it stepped into what little light was in the void to reveal its face. Max stared at a mirror image of herself. They were identical in every way but clothing. While she wore the white hospital gown, the mirror image of her wore entirely black. Her jeans, hoodie, shoes and T-shirt were all the darkest colours under the sun.

"It's a long way to come, isn't it, Miss Caulfield?" Mirror Max asked mockingly. Max could see the cruel intent burning in her double's eyes. There was something wrong with her, but Max couldn't put her finger on it. Even the tone she was speaking in was too oily. Yet something about it was very familiar.

"What do you want?" Max asked, trying to hide her fear.

"I want you to know how I'm killing you and how I'm going to continue to do so." Mirror Max snarled.

"What will that achieve?"

"It'll achieve a great deal, Max." Mirror Max said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "When someone anticipates pain, it hurts so much more when it comes. What I need is for you to know the danger that comes from within." Just then, Max realised where she'd heard that tone of voice before. "Yes, Miss Caulfield. Look past the butterfly to see the hornet within. Gaze upon the face of your most hateful enemy!" Mirror Max had started yelling now. Flames rose from her body and started forming a shape around it.

"It's impossible." Max said dumbly as the shape fully emerged.

"It's not impossible, Maxine; merely improbable." The flames finished shaping themselves as the fiery form of Mark Jefferson glared back at her. "I must say, I was quite surprised to learn of your power. And fragmenting me in a tornado made of doomed alternate realities was a stroke of genius on your part. Though frankly, it just wasn't smart enough. When you died in the tornado, I was able to infect you with my collective consciousness. Each and every one of the realities I was thrown into is trapped inside me, and I'm thriving inside you. From here, I have control over your rewind power and I'm the one causing it to backfire! Each and every time you use it, I kill you one piece at a time."

"You're more sick and evil than I thought!" Max gasped. Jefferson clenched his fist and Max doubled over clutching her head in agony.

"That may be true Max, but you can't deny that I'm so much more powerful than you thought too." Jefferson rubbed his thumb over the edge of his index finger, causing a shower of sparks to fly from his hand. Max felt every one of those sparks in her chest. Suddenly, a chill settled over her as she felt her heart stop. This was it. She was going to die here.

"Do it then." Max gasped.

"No." Jefferson said as Max's heart surged back into life. "This would be too easy for you. I release you for now, Max Caulfield. But I will be back again. Whichever way you look at it, life has changed."

Max suddenly snapped back to reality with a jolt. Someone pulled her hospital gown back into position to cover her again as they dumped a set of defibrillator pads back onto a trolley. Max lurched forwards and vomited just as Ian held a bucket under her chin. Blood was streaming from her nose the entire time, staining her hospital gown red.

"...water..." Max gasped.

"Get the girl some water!" Ian yelled. One of the doctors dashed out from the room to get water. "What happened with the button, Max?" Ian asked.

"No batteries..." Max managed to say before vomiting again.

"What do you mean 'no batteries'?" Ian asked, giving Max the bucket to hold and walking round to see the button now shattered on the ground. Sure enough, the batteries weren't inserted. The battery compartment was broken open. Shards of plastic littered the floor, but there were no batteries in sight. Just then, the person who went for water came back in carrying a jug in each hand. He handed one to Max who weakly rinse her mouth out before taking a small sip to moisten her throat.

"Did my heart stop?" Max asked weakly.

"We were literally just about to give up on re-starting it." Ian told her. "We used adrenaline, defibrillators and CPR. Without the button, it was literally blind luck that the nurse was just coming in to check on you and used the generic buzzer. It was literally one in eight-million. You're one lucky girl, Max."

' _No, I think it was because Jefferson wanted it that way_.' Max thought to herself.

"Can I get some Polo mints or something?" Max asked.

"I'll go and round some up in a second, but I need to ask you a question first." Ian said. "With what's happened, I want to start doing the CT scans now, but I don't want to put you under too much stress. You have two options here: you can have two hours rest at the risk of having another attack before then, or we can do the scans immediately and you can have all the rest you want afterwards."

"Can I think about it while you get those Polo mints?" Max asked as she took a gulp of water.

"Please do." Ian said as he got up to leave. "I'll be back before you know it. Don't worry, Max. We'll get this fixed." As soon as Ian left the room, Max couldn't stop herself from bursting into tears.


	5. Chapter 5: Treachery and Promises

Chapter 5

David Madsen pulled into the garage at the end of the day feeling exhausted beyond belief. They'd had three new recruits transfer in to Blackwell's security team. Wells had placed David in charge of training them, saying he wanted them to 'learn from the best'. He was relieved to smell dinner being cooked as he stepped out the car.

"Hello, David." Joyce said as she stepped through the side door to the garage. "I hear you've had a fun day at work today." David had rung to let her know he'd be home late so she knew roughly what time to start dinner.

"They're a good bunch." David told her. "The trouble is that one of them can be a bit slow both physically and mentally. That's not the kind of thing you need in a school with that many pupils. But they're a brilliant lot in terms of character. I think the students could really put some trust in them."

"Well, I would say for the looking that there's been a case of treachery." Joyce said, pointing to the back of David's pickup truck.

"What the hell..." David muttered as he walked over and looked at the empty space where the back window was missing. "Where the hell did the window... I know exactly where it is!" Then he looked around the garage and realised Chloe's truck wasn't there.

"Chloe had an urgent call from Ian." Joyce told him. "Apparently Max had another attack of whatever it is and her heart stopped briefly. She and Rachel left about two hours ago to see her. Ian said he'd get them in even though it's after visiting hours."

"Ian's a good man." David said. "I remember him from our wedding. I wish the world had ten more like him. I'll give it another hour or two before I rip Chloe a new one about the window."

"David, it's not like you were using that truck anyway." Joyce reminded him.

"I actually need it for something tomorrow." David pointed out. "I also need the car seeing to since some asshole blindsided me and smashed the passenger door in. Joyce looked round to see the side panel of the passenger door caved in.

"It sounds to me like you need some hot food and a cold beer." Joyce led David inside and dished his supper up, dreading the conversation over the window.

Chloe and Rachel were sitting by Max's bed as they talked together. Max was still pretty weak, but she was still just about able to hold a conversation. Her last attack had scared the hell out of everyone. Now the moment had passed though, Chloe was lightening the mood.

"The best bit is that among all the crap in David's garage, I still found a piece of glass to go in my back window." Chloe told Max. "I tell you now; if I could take you out to the truck I'd show you. It looks just like it was meant to be there. It's uncanny!"

"Where did you get it from?" Max asked as Chloe's phone started ringing. Chloe wanted to groan as she noticed David's name on the caller ID bar.

"Would you excuse me for a second?" Chloe asked.

"Go on." Max gestured to the opposite corner of the room. Chloe walked over and answered her phone. Even from the bed, Max could hear David.

"Have you got my window?" he yelled.

"What?" Chloe clearly hadn't been expecting such directness.

"Did you take the back window off my truck and put it on yours?" David's angry voice drifted across the room. Max looked over at Rachel who only nodded.

"You weren't using that bit." Chloe replied. If Max could have found the energy she would have laughed at the response.

"Chloe Price, when you get home I'll kill you every day for the rest of your life!" David yelled. Chloe hung up immediately because she'd just realised she'd left it on loudspeaker.

"I'm not sure how much of that you could hear..." Chloe began tentatively.

"Oh, we heard all of it." Max said, trying to suppress the laughter for fear of hurting her head more.

"I'm going to be dead when I go home." Chloe muttered, flopping back into her thin plastic chair only for it to break from the sudden change in weight. Chloe swore loudly as she hit the ground hard.

"Chloe, try and keep it down." Rachel said as she helped her up. "That noise hurt Max's head and the room isn't soundproof. There are people trying to sleep in the next room over." Chloe looked over to find Max holding her head again.

"God, I'm so sorry, Max." Chloe said, gently easing Max back so she was lying down properly again.

"I'll tell you now, I hope this isn't contagious." Max said knowing full well it wasn't. "I don't care if I die from it, but if it isn't contagious then I want to go outside and take one last photo of the three of us together as a group."

"It would be the first photo." Chloe said, earning a smack in the arm from Rachel.

"That's the only thing that makes it painful." Max muttered.

"It's not going to be the only one, Max." Chloe said. "It may be the first one, but it won't be the only one. Uncle Ian won't let it get to that stage." Max wanted to find hope in Chloe's words, but she knew it was pointless. Jefferson had turned her own power against her. She couldn't rewind and she was literally being killed from the inside out.

"Thanks, Chloe. You always did do a good job of keeping me going." Max said, feeling bad about herself for effectively lying. Chloe's hope hadn't lifted her spirits at all.

"You were the one who kept me going, Max." Chloe said. Before you left, you did your level best to help me, and then Rachel came along soon after you left and I realised that you were right. There's always something to fight for. Just because you were gone, it didn't mean I should give up."

"You're right, Chloe." Max replied. "I won't give up. I'm going to beat whatever this is." At that moment, a sharp pain smacked into her. It wasn't much, but Max knew it was trying to remind her who controlled the situation. She knew beyond a doubt now, Jefferson was the one holding all the cards.

"Don't go giving up, girl." Chloe said firmly, gently rubbing Max's shoulder.

"You two might need to go." Max said. "I'm getting the scan results tomorrow, and I need my sleep to face it."

"Okay, Max. Get well soon." Rachel reached over and gently kissed Max on the forehead before leaving the room.

"Is everything okay with Rachel?" Max asked. "Even before I ended up here, she never seemed overly lively."

"Rachel can be sometimes, but she is usually quite reserved." Chloe told her. "Plus, it doesn't help that she's really worried about you." Max nodded shakily.

"Can you send her back in quickly?" Max asked. "I need to ask her something."

"Sure, I'll just go and get her." Chloe said as she kissed Max on the forehead as well and left the room. A few seconds later, Rachel walked back in.

"What was it you wanted to talk to me about?" Rachel asked.

"Okay Rachel, I'm going to keep this to the point." Max said. "I don't know you that well. We haven't really had much of a chance to get to know each other. Hopefully we'll get chance to do that at some point, but for now I just need you to listen. I have a pretty good idea what's going to happen to me. Something tells me you do too. When it happens, Chloe's going to be just like she was when we lost William only possibly worse since this'll be the second major tragedy in her life. I need you to be there for her. Do you understand me?" Rachel nodded shakily, tears streaming down her face.

"I promise I will, Max." Rachel replied; her voice little more than a whisper.

"You'd better be there." Max said sharply. "When I go, you hold that girl like both your lives depend on it and you don't ever let go. Don't ever let her go!" Rachel knew if she tried to talk she would just break down into tears. "What I've said doesn't reach Chloe until I'm gone. Otherwise, she'll know just how bad this truly is." Max said.

"I will... I'll look after her." Rachel gasped out, desperately trying not to break down. "I promise you, I'll take on that responsibility with everything I have in me."

"Rachel, you have to look after her." Max told her. "Joyce may be her mother, but you understand Chloe like no one else can."


	6. Chapter 6: Deja-vu

Chapter 6

Rachel walked through the halls of Blackwell the next day, unable to keep the conversation with Max out of her head. Behind her, Samuel was mopping the corridor. She reached her locker just as Alyssa walked up behind her. Just as she was about to open her locker, she noticed a scrap of paper sticking out from it. She pulled it out as Alyssa looked over her shoulder.

"Ooh, you got a love note!" She said, clearly excited. At that moment, something weird happened. Everything seemed to rewind rapidly. In a blur of motion that made Rachel want to vomit, everything rewound before fading to black.

Rachel woke up with a small trickle of blood seeping from her nose as the peace and tranquillity of the morning was shattered by the bellow of a wild animal.

"David Madsen, you are so dead!" Chloe screamed at the top of her lungs. Rachel wiped the blood from her nose as she hurried downstairs and into the garage to see Chloe glaring at a king-sized hole in her door. The metal had been roughly ripped away leaving sharp edges. David was just pulling away. Rachel could clearly see the shard of Chloe's door bolted crudely to the metal.

"He couldn't do that any better, could he?" Rachel asked, looking at the twisted metal edges. Since she knew Chloe so well, she knew that she wouldn't be as upset about the damage or the theft of the metal as she would about the shoddiness of the execution of the theft. It wasn't a properly done job, so it would probably trigger a massive rant any second now.

"I don't mind too much that he stole half my door!" Chloe ranted. "That much is fair! What I do mind is him doing such a crap job of it! Look at the state of that! It looks like it was done with a knife and fork!"

"Maybe he couldn't find any tools?" Rachel suggested lamely.

"The back of my truck is full of tools!" Chloe yelled. "The biggest tool in this operation was him! I could have done better with the blunt edge of a plate! I wouldn't mind but he's an ex serviceman for Jesus' sake! They're supposed to be all military neat! I see him making the bed every day and you'd never guess two people had slept in it! So why the hell is the door of my truck now a potential hazard?"

"You know, from all the mentions of knives, forks and plates I'm getting the impression that you're hungry." Rachel said, trying to change the subject. "Let's go into the house and ask Joyce if she can do us a bacon omelette each."

"This isn't over!" Chloe growled bitterly. From the tone of her voice, Rachel could tell it really wasn't over.

After supper, Chloe dropped Rachel off at Blackwell's front gates before driving off to see a guy she knew well. She knew he had a spare piece of metal in waste-down he could give her that only needed flattening out properly. Once that was done, she could weld that on and have everything sorted. Meanwhile, Rachel was left to walk through the corridor with everyone staring at her and gossiping about how she knew Max and wouldn't say what was going on with her. She tried to block it out as she walked to her locker, narrowly avoiding the wet patch from where Samuel was mopping the floor. She was just about to open her locker when she noticed a scrap of paper sticking out from it.

"Ooh, you got a love note." Alyssa said as she leaned against her own locker. Just then, Rachel flashed back to the dream she had last night.

"What the hell did you just say?" she asked.

"What's wrong?" Alyssa asked.

"It's nothing. I'm just having the weirdest Déjà-vu." Rachel told her. She opened the note to find a badly drawn symbol staring back at her. She knew it quite well from when she and Chloe watched DVDs together. It was the rewind symbol.

"Oh, that's so cute!" Alyssa said, looking over her shoulder. "He wrote you a poem!"

"What?" Rachel asked, glancing up at her. When she looked back, she saw that Alyssa was right. The rewind symbol was gone and in its place was boyish, crappy writing. Had the symbol ever actually been there? The only thing slightly weird now was that the bottom of the note had somehow got ripped off. "Yeah, it looks pretty sappy." Rachel tried to keep her voice calm as she ripped the note in half.

"Girl, what the hell are you tearing it up for?" Alyssa asked. "You might actually get a man."

"I have a girlfriend, Alyssa." Rachel reminded her.

"Yeah, but I always said you needed a man in your life." Alyssa said. "Come on, Rachel. Just give it a go."

"No, Chloe needs me now more than ever." Rachel said, replaying her conversation with Max again. Even if she were slightly interested, she just couldn't turn her back on Chloe.

"Is this about the thing with Max?" Alyssa asked. "What's actually going on with her anyway? I heard she was in hospital about an unplanned pregnancy or something."

"How did I know that one would come up?" Rachel muttered to herself. "No, boys getting into Max's pants don't have anything to do with the situation."

"What is it then?" Alyssa pressed.

"We don't know yet." Rachel told her. "Even if we did, I couldn't tell you until everyone else found out. No offense, Alyssa; but you're not exactly the most tight-lipped girl in Blackwell."

"That's such a lie!" Alyssa retorted as the bell rang.

"Is it really?" Rachel grabbed her stuff from her locker and headed to class. "Remember Dana with the pregnancy test and the rumours that started?"

"Okay, I suppose that's something I need to work on." Alyssa muttered. "I'm sorry, okay? I just overhear these things."

"When you're told something often enough, you start believing it. I get that." Rachel and Alyssa arrived at the door to Miss Grey's science class. "Just know that you don't need rumours to start a conversation. If someone is worth speaking to at all, they'll be happy to talk about anything with you. You don't need to spread rumours you overheard. Not to mention, you don't need to overhear stuff from the Vortex Club."

"They weren't Vortex, they were boys." Alyssa said with a wink as she went into the classroom.

"That's even worse!" Rachel called after her.

Chloe pulled into the parking space at the garage she knew. Once she got out the truck, she walked in only to find someone she really didn't want to see.

"Hello, Frank." Chloe stood facing him. The guy in the garage sensed the tension and jumped into the office at the back.

"Hello, Chloe. How's Rachel doing?" Frank asked.

"She's not looking to go back to you if that's what you mean." Chloe replied sharply. "It was two dates and then she realised she was a lesbian. You need to let it go."

"Actually, I was wondering what was going on with you." Frank said. "I haven't had any orders from you in nearly a week now."

"I'm kicking all my bad habits." Chloe replied.

"Well, good luck to you." Frank said. "To tell you the truth, I'd stop dealing if I didn't have extortionate vet and food bills for Pompidou. Of course now that you're looking to quit, my 'once you know I can't let you go' policy comes into play so there's no risk I'll go to prison." Frank reached into his belt and pulled out a knife. He gestured out the window where Chloe could see the tail end of his RV parked behind the tree line.

"You don't need me to help you go to prison." Chloe said. "You have more than enough rope to hang yourself with. The only question is if it'll be by your own hand that it's done."

"Only time will tell. Now, get walking." Frank gestured to the RV again. Reluctantly, Chloe started walking towards the exit when a sharp click stopped her and Frank in their tracks.

"That's enough, Frank!" the garage owner yelled as he walked out from the back with a fully loaded sawed-off double-barrel shotgun. "Let the lady go!"

"What about Chloe?" Frank asked.

"Don't test me, asshole!" the mechanic pointed the shotgun at the ceiling and fired one barrel. Plaster rained down on everyone's heads. The owner aimed at Frank again. "It's your choice entirely." Frank suddenly pulled Chloe round and aimed the point of his knife under her chest. Before the mechanic could react, he stabbed her. The blade sunk in to a depth that would easily pierce her heart. Frank turned and ran. The mechanic chased after him as Chloe hit the floor. He fired the gun just as the RV pulled away and took out the rear light.

"Let him go." Chloe said from behind him. He spun round to see her standing there like nothing happened.

"How are you still alive?" he asked. "Your chest would have to be made of steel for you to have survived that!"

"My chest isn't made of steel, but my girlfriend's bikini magazine has a lot of pages since it's a collector's edition." Chloe said as she pulled it from under her top.

"Can I ask why the hell you have a bikini magazine under your top?" the mechanic asked.

"This bra's needed replacing ever since it got caught in my closet door and broke on the left side." Chloe told him. "It doesn't give me any support, so I stuff one of her magazines under my top to help it out a bit. What better way to support your boobs than using someone else's?"

"Now that's some logic the world needs more of!" the mechanic said.

"By the way, Billy; do you have that spare piece of metal you mentioned? My step-ass stole half my door and it looks like he used a knife and fork to do it."

"I'm afraid I don't anymore." Billy said. "Between you and I though, I would return the favour. Also, I'm going to have to report this incident to the police, so if you don't want your name flagging up I would suggest you go. I'll just say I'd never seen the girl before in my life."

"Thanks, Billy." Chloe said.

"By the way, I hear you have a friend who's not too well at the moment. Give her my best, won't you?"

"I will. Thanks again." Chloe said as she climbed back into her truck. As she pulled out from the driveway, she knew just what she was going to do.

' _How would you like a second sunroof on that truck, David_?' she thought to herself.

 **I decided to do a double update since I couldn't wait to post this chapter. Please remember to keep reviewing. I really appreciate your support.**


	7. Chapter 7: Realisations

Chapter 7

Vanessa Caulfield really wasn't happy. News of what happened had reached her early in the morning, as well as the news of there being no batteries in the emergency button.

"If Joyce's brother wasn't in charge of treating my daughter, as well as being the only one who actually knows what the hell he's doing, I'd be suing the ass off the hospital right now!" she shrieked down the phone. "This is the USA! We pay for this service and we get this kind of crap in exchange! One more slip-up like this and you'll be hearing from my lawyer!" With that, she slammed the phone down and turned to her husband. "Can you believe this?" she asked Ryan, her face red with fury.

"Maybe we should look at going to see Max instead of yelling down a phone?" he suggested.

"We do need to see Max." Vanessa agreed. "But we need to make our complaints heard here. Apparently when she was first taken in, they didn't hook her up to an IV or anything! She went for two days with nothing supporting her!"

"Please tell me you're joking!" Now it was Ryan's turn to lose his temper. "At least tell me they're feeding her!"

"They haven't fed her since her heart stopped because she vomited when they restarted it. They're leaving it to keep her stomach settled. I don't know about before that."

"Right, I think we need to get in the car and drive down there." Ryan said as he grabbed his coat and car keys.

A forty-minute drive later, they were at the hospital. They checked in at reception and raced up to Max's room. Nothing could have prepared them for the shock they received. Max was sitting there in bed asleep. Her face was pale and drawn.

"I wouldn't wake her just yet." Ian's voice caused them to turn abruptly. "I've just had to break some terrible news to her."

"What news?" Vanessa asked. If Ian gave her the unthinkable news she was dreading, she'd kill him or die trying.

"The CT scans didn't show the cause of these attacks she keeps having, but it did show the damage. There's a series of small patches of damaged tissue covering a large area. I'm surprised she doesn't feel like she'd got a permanent migraine already. If we can't find the cause soon, it'll just get worse. Max is very ill." Vanessa collapsed into a sobbing mess. Ryan dreaded the question he had to ask.

"Could she potentially die from this?" he asked.

"If we can't find what's doing it, I think it's all but certain." Ian said sadly. "Chloe and Rachel are coming over later. They're going to take her into the garden at the back for some fresh air."

"What are you going to try next?" Ryan asked.

"There's a lot we can try next." Ian said. "What you should be asking is what we can do should it not give us results. All I can say is that I wish Max had accepted the option of the hospital transfer. The care here is abysmal, but I've just filed some paperwork of my own. I'm going to all but move in here and I won't rest until this place has a full crew of staff who actually do what they're supposed to and know how to do it."

"What actually happened to those batteries?" Ryan asked, his voice leaving him.

"I found out where they disappeared to." Ian said. "One of the idiot nurses here took them for her pager. I've seen to it that the only time she gets near a hospital again is if she's the one in the bed."

"Thank you." Ryan said, shaking Ian's hand.

"The pleasure's all mine." Ian replied. "I get that she doesn't want to be here. Who actually does anyway? But she's a brilliant girl and I'm so sorry this has happened to all of you."

"You couldn't have stopped it. None of us could." Ryan muttered.

"Like I said, I wouldn't go waking her if you can avoid it; but you're welcome to go and sit next to her. We won't need to run any more tests for a while yet." Ian said. Ryan nodded and helped Vanessa into a chair next to the bed.

"Don't worry, Vanessa. Max is tough in her own way. She'll find a way around this!" Ryan sensed the hesitation in his own voice. Was he really so desperate that he was just trying to convince himself?

 **This is a pretty short chapter, so I'm going to double-update to make up for it. That, and I couldn't wait to post the next chapter anyway. As always, please feel free to review.**


	8. Chapter 8: Ambush

Chapter 8

"Please tell me that's not another love note." Alyssa said as Rachel yanked another scrap of paper from her locker door. The last class of the day had finished and Rachel was getting ready for Chloe to pick her up so they could go and see Max. Chloe had rung her and told her that her uncle had advised her that if they were going to do as they discussed and take Max outside to take photos, now was the time.

"'There's a photography club meeting in Miss DaFrame's classroom. Hope you can make it.'" Rachel read out. "God, why did this have to happen today? I have to go and see Max!"

"Couldn't you just ask Chloe to wait a few minutes, go in, say you can't do today and reschedule?" Alyssa asked.

"I suppose I'll probably have to." Rachel said as she pulled out her phone and fired off a text to Chloe.

Five minutes later, she sat in Miss DaFrame's classroom waiting for someone else to show up. Getting bored, she walked over to the board, grabbed a pen and started drawing little heart shapes around the edges. She was interrupted by a call from Chloe.

" _What the hell are you doing in there_?" she asked.

"I'm sorry, Chloe. No one's turned up yet. I can't reschedule if there's no one here to reschedule with."

" _Just leave then_." Chloe replied. " _You've been polite and turned up and you just got stood up for it. You've done all you can_."

"Okay, I'll be out in a second." Rachel said before hanging up. She turned to the door only to see someone standing there. A boy she knew from her science class was standing like a statue in the doorway. "Are you here for the meeting, Hayden?" Rachel asked.

"There is no meeting." Hayden replied. "I just had to talk to you alone. You're different to all the other girls."

"Wait, what?" Rachel had to take a second to process what was happening. The air around her was rapidly growing warmer for some reason. Carefully, she backed up to turn off the heater only to find that it was never on. "Are you saying you tricked me into meeting you here? That's really not okay, Hayden. I should be with a friend who's currently dying in hospital. I put it off to come and reschedule a photography meeting which I now find out was a trick to get me alone. Can you see why I'm slightly annoyed about that?"

"I know. I'm sorry." Hayden said, holding his hands up in apology. "I just see you in class and I can't help but notice how beautiful you are. It's not like I did it anonymously either. I put my name and number on the first note. This was only so I could find out if you got it or just weren't interested."

"No, the name got ripped off. There was no name or number." Rachel said. "Look, I'm sorry but I already have a girlfriend. I'm really not interested in boys."

"You think you're better than me, don't you?" The question caught Rachel off guard. The air was getting even hotter. She couldn't believe that was possible. It was literally like the room was on fire.

"What... No... I..."

"You're such a manipulative little nuisance. You think you can just dump anyone any time. Well you can't just dump me!" Hayden advanced in an almost robot-like manner. As he approached, the air continued to heat up to the point where Rachel thought she would be incinerated where she stood.

"Get the hell away from me!" she screamed as she held her hand up in the hope it would deter him. Suddenly, she noticed he hadn't advanced. She looked up to see him walking backwards into the position he was previously in before advancing again. "What the hell just happened?" she asked herself.

"What just happened is that you realised there's no way out!" Hayden growled as he advanced again. Rachel extended her hand again. As before, Hayden started moving in reverse. Rachel saw his lips replay his side of their whole conversation before walking backwards out the door. Without stopping to think about what just happened, she ran out the door as fast as she could. As she turned the corner, she ran straight into Hayden again. She hadn't rewound far enough.

"Get the hell away from me!" she yelled.

"Rachel, what's wrong?" he asked in an almost loving tone. But when Rachel looked into his eyes, she saw a fiery evil burning inside them. Without thinking, she lifted her hand and slapped him. As soon as her palm made contact with his face, various images flashed in front of her vision.

Hayden stood in a void of darkness wearing only his pyjamas. It was clear he was frightened.

"Hello? Is this a dream?" he called out to no one in particular. "I'd like to wake up now, if that's okay?" Suddenly, a flaming shape descended from out of nowhere. If Rachel had to describe it, she would say it was a man made of fire. Just then, the flames melted away leaving a teenage girl standing where the man once was. Rachel recognised the girl instantly. But something was off. That same dark evil that burned in Max's eyes now was the same one that she'd just seen in Hayden's eyes. This version of Max seemed to radiate a dark light, which wasn't helped by her all-darkness wardrobe. Suddenly, Dark Max grabbed Hayden by the shoulders. The same dark energy encased him. When the black cloud cleared, another Dark Max was standing where Hayden once stood. On cue, they both ignited, leaving two flaming figures of the same man where the two Maxes previously stood.

Suddenly, Rachel seemed to be drawn inside the mind of the first one. Images flashed through her mind that couldn't possibly have happened. Max was duct-taped to a chair. A man was stood taking pictures of her. It looked a lot like the flaming man she'd just seen, but without the flames. Another image was dragged into her line of sight. Max and the man were swirling around in a gigantic tornado. Max grabbed the man's shoulders and watched him fragment in a cloud of blood.

"Goodbye, Mr Jefferson." Rachel heard Max mutter as she succumbed to death in the eye of the storm. As Rachel saw the light leave Max's eyes, she could hear the last thought going through her mind.

' _I love you, Chloe_.'

Rachel snapped back to reality with blood trickling from her nose and tears streaming down her face. Unable to stand, she dropped to the floor.

"I just saw you. You were poking around inside my head!" Rachel looked up and saw Hayden looking down at her. This time, it truly was him. She could see it in his eyes.

"That was me? I thought that was you." Rachel said as she hauled herself up. Hayden was just about to respond when he doubled over clutching his head.

"Are you actually going to come with me, or do you just want to stay here?" Rachel spun round to see Chloe standing behind her. "What the hell is wrong with Hayden anyway?" Chloe asked. Rachel turned back to see Hayden straightening up. This time, it wasn't him. That dark fire was blazing in his eyes again.

"It's impossible!" he muttered in a tone that wasn't his own.

"We need to run!" Rachel grabbed Chloe's arm and hauled her along. The pair of them ran at a blistering pace through the corridor. They burst out into the courtyard with Hayden in hot pursuit. Still holding Chloe's arm, Rachel spun to face him and focused. Immediately, Hayden started running backwards into the building again. As soon as the door shut, Rachel broke the connection.

"How the hell did you just do that?" Chloe asked. Since Rachel had been holding her arm, she hadn't been rewound too. She'd seen everything.

"It's very hard to explain." Rachel said. "Right now though, we just need to get to the hospital. I have to have a word with Max."


	9. Chapter 9: Timelines

Chapter 9

 **Author's Note: I'm so sorry I haven't updated in so long. I've been quite ill recently and I haven't had the strength to do anything. As always, please remember to review. If this does well, I'll try and have the next chapter up before the weekend.**

Rachel and Chloe made it to Max's room just as she started to wake up. Vanessa and Ryan were also about to leave.

"How is she?" Rachel asked. That one innocent question caused Vanessa's calm exterior to collapse in on itself as she burst into floods of tears.

"God, Vanessa; I'm so sorry." Chloe said, pulling her into a hug.

"If Max wants to, she'll fill you in." Ryan said, barely holding himself together as he ushered Vanessa out the room.

"Hey guys." Max said groggily as she came to. "Where are my parents going?"

"I think your mum's finding this a bit hard to deal with." Rachel said gently as she sat on the edge of the bed.

"God, I hate being such a burden." Max muttered as she laid back into a better position.

"How could you say that?" Chloe asked sternly as she sat next to Rachel. "You could never be a burden."

"Max, when we first met, you asked about someone called Mark Jefferson, right?" Rachel asked.

"Yeah, I did." Max replied, sitting up at the mention of Jefferson's name.

"Why did you lie about which picture was the right one?"

"I didn't lie." Max lied.

"Hold my hand and press your panic button." Rachel suddenly instructed.

"That button is for emergencies only. I can't just press it on a whim." Max replied.

"I promise it'll clear everything up." Rachel said.

"And if it doesn't, you'll take responsibility?" Max asked.

"Yes, I'll take responsibility." Rachel replied. Max and Chloe each gripped one of Rachel's hands and Max grabbed her panic button. On Rachel's signal, she pressed it. "Keep an eye on the door." Rachel instructed. Five seconds later, Ian burst through the doorway. As Rachel focused, he suddenly started running backwards out the room.

"There's just no way!" Max was at a loss for words. She'd put the button on the bed next to her, so when Rachel rewound it had flown back onto the table. "How the hell do you have my power?"

"Wait, since when could you rewind time?" Chloe asked.

"Okay, I have one hell of a story to tell you guys, and it's going to blow your mind." Max said to them. Just then, Ian burst back in.

"What's going on?" he asked.

"Sorry. Chloe was getting me water and knocked the button off." Max explained. Ian couldn't hide a slightly annoyed expression.

"Well, it's good to know it has batteries this time, I suppose. But can we try and avoid that happening again?" he asked.

"We will." Rachel said as Ian left the room. "Go on, Max. What were you saying?"

"It all started just after the spring term at Blackwell started." Max explained. "Mr Jefferson the photography teacher was talking about Louis Daguerre and how he inspired various elements of photography. When it was finally over, I went to the girl's bathroom. Nathan Prescott came in and started giving himself a psychotic pep-talk before you came in, Chloe; and he pulled a gun on you."

"That was when you hit him with the hammer and saved me." Chloe summarised.

"No, that was this time. When he shot you before, I extended my hand as I went to run over and help. Suddenly, everything around me seemed to rewind. Next thing I know, I'm back in Jefferson's lecture. I got to the bathroom again, and when the trouble started I hit the fire alarm. We met up again in the car park where you saved me from Nathan, and then I realised it was you, Chloe."

"Where am I in all this?" Rachel asked.

"That's the thing." Max said, going pale at the question. "You'd been missing for ages. Everyone in Oregon was wondering where you were. We found evidence in Nathan's room connecting him to your disappearance. We then found a bunker under the Prescotts' old barn and Chloe and I found all kinds of sick photos of girls. There were even some of you. Chloe recognised a spot in one of them from the junkyard. We went there and we found your body."

"I don't believe this." Chloe seethed. "You're just making all this up as you go, aren't you? Please tell me this is all a sick joke."

"I believe it." Rachel said. "This explains everything."

"Anyway Chloe, you and I went to a Vortex club party to look for Nathan. As we were leaving, he texted you saying there wouldn't be any evidence when he was done. We went to check on Rachel's body, and we got ambushed. I got drugged from behind and I couldn't use my power. You tried to shoot whoever it was but got shot instead. Then I looked up to see Jefferson standing over me holding the gun. I got taken to his darkroom and he took photos of me too. He was just about to kill me when David burst in. I tore myself free as Jefferson killed David and I just ran for it. I took your truck and went to the cliff where the lighthouse is. Jefferson chased me all the way up there. I fought him and got the upper hand thanks to my rewind power. Eventually, I got him in the right position and kicked him off the cliff."

"I had a vision of the two of you in a tornado." Rachel added.

"The tornado was something I'd been having visions about the whole time." Max continued. "It passed right by the cliff and pulled us into it when I kicked Jefferson off. It turns out it was made of all those other doomed realities that simply couldn't work. When I grabbed hold of Jefferson, I used my rewind. The presence of all those alternate realities tried to pull him apart, but since I had hold of him he couldn't be rewound. That conflict caused him to fragment into all those other realities. Straight after that, I ran out of air and suffocated. I woke up in the girls' bathroom, and that was when I hit Nathan with the hammer. Since Jefferson never existed, Nathan never kidnapped you, Rachel. I asked you that question to confirm my theory about him being obliterated from history."

"So do you know what caused the brain malfunctions?" Chloe asked.

"Jefferson somehow gained a collective consciousness inside me." Max told them. "Whenever I use my power, he causes it to backfire. He's getting more powerful too. When I had the attack that stopped my heart, I wasn't even rewinding. I think he's just trying to drag this out as long and painfully as possible."

"Max, I'm so sorry." Rachel said. "Somehow I feel like this is all our fault."

"This is no one's fault." Max told her firmly. "The only one to blame here is Jefferson. He started this when he used Nathan like he did."

"So, how did I die in the end?" Rachel asked. "You said you'd found my body and that Nathan kidnapped me. Do you know what happened?"

"It turns out Nathan tried to mimic what Jefferson was doing to impress him." Max said. "You started fighting the drugs and he ended up overdosing you." Chloe automatically looped a protective arm around Rachel.

"So how the hell do we kill this asshole?" Chloe asked.

"You two don't kill him. I'm the one who'll have to do it." Max said. "The trouble is: I feel sick at the prospect of taking a life. Not that he has much of a life left anyway. I think I know how to do it, but I'm scared. I keep worrying what if it fails? Am I strong enough?"

"Max, you're only going to get weaker as time goes on." Rachel reminded her. "Plus, I know what you're planning. It won't fail. He'll be erased, since you're taking the one thing he clings to for survival."

"You're right. It makes all the logical sense in the world." Max said. "By the way, how did you find out about my power?"

"Hayden tried to attack me at the school." Rachel replied. "I think Jefferson somehow gained a conscious presence inside him when he was asleep last night. I saw it in a vision when I slapped him."

"How would that be possible?" Max muttered to herself. Then she realised. Jefferson had been split between thousands of alternate realities. There must have been some where other people got the rewind power. That would mean at least one would have been where Hayden was in Max's situation. Jefferson had harnessed that reality and used it to possess him. But did that mean all her friends were at risk too?

"Max, are you okay?" Chloe asked. "You've gone pale."

"Come on, you said we would go outside." Max said trying to steer away from Chloe's question.

"I'll get you a wheelchair." Rachel said, going out into the hallway to look for one.

"You didn't answer me." Chloe pressed once she'd gone.

"Chloe, ever since I found out what was going on; I knew what needed to be done. I've been afraid for so long, but I'm not scared anymore." Max said; a determined expression fixed to her face.

"Please Max, don't do this." Chloe begged, realising what Max was about to do.

"Chloe, I have to." Max explained. "If I don't do this, you won't get a tomorrow. I love you too much to let that happen."

"Max, if you have to do this, then there must surely be something I can do." Chloe reasoned.

"Just stay by me." Max told her. At that moment, Rachel came back with a wheelchair. Chloe went to help her, but she shrugged her off. "No, I've got this." Max said. "When we get outside, I want to walk as well."

"By the way, I grabbed these for you." Chloe said opening her bag to reveal some of Max's clothes.

"Okay, just give me a minute to change then." Max waited for the other two to get out before changing into her own clothes. Feeling human again, she lowered herself into the wheelchair before calling out that she was ready.

Rachel pushed her into the garden at the back of the hospital. For Max, it was like waking up from a nightmare. She was determined to enjoy this moment, however brief it was. Chloe pulled Max's instant camera from her bag and handed it to her. Max held it out before turning it round to face herself. Chloe and Rachel each rested their heads on one of her shoulders and smiled as she took the picture. The girls had quite a laugh and a joke, catching up on everything that had been going on. Chloe raised a few chuckles telling the girls how she'd fixed her door by giving David a second sunroof. Max also got up from the chair and stretched her legs properly for the first time in four days. As much as she wanted to stave it off, she knew it was already time.

"You're going to do it, aren't you?" Rachel asked.

"If I don't do it now, I'll never be able to bring myself to do it." Max told her. "Just stay by me and make sure no one goes asking questions. If they ask, just tell them I'm having a lie down in the sun because I've been in bed for four days straight." Chloe and Rachel nodded.

"Good luck, Max." Chloe said, hugging her.

"I'll see both of you later." Max promised, hugging them as one. Before she could stop herself, she laid down on the grass just outside the shadow of the big tree in the garden. Giving in to the darkness, he felt herself get pulled under.


	10. Chapter 10: Last Stand

Chapter 10

 **Author's Note: Okay, so I had a review shortly after posting saying that this chapter is very similar to Matrix Revolutions. Just for you guys, I dragged my tired and aching body out of bed at four in the morning to check and a lot of the dialogue is similar. In my own defence, I was super tired when I wrote this and I'd not long seen that movie, so bits of it were probably rattling around in my head. The vote was to not change it, so I've left it as it is.**

One second, Max felt as though she were flying. The next, she was falling. Pulling herself upwards sharply, she was able to control the fall and land safely. The dark void she found herself in seemed to be a massive room made entirely of black crystal. She didn't know whether she was inside her own mind, the gap between dimensions or the very edge of the universe. Either way, she knew the one thing that was there. Mirror Max stood there with a fiery aura burning around her. Just then, an exact double of Mirror Max walked out from the shadows and stood next to the original. The double also burned with the same fire. Max could tell that every flame was made up of one of the doomed alternate realities.

"Welcome back, Maxine." The original Mirror Max wore a cocky smirk. "Do you like what I've done with the place?"

"It's over, Jefferson." Max said. On cue, the flames fully formed around both Max's mirror doubles. Jefferson's flaming form hadn't become any prettier since Max had last seen him. "It all has to end."

"I know it does, Max. I've seen through the other realities what has happened and what is yet to be. That's why the rest of me here won't even pitch in." The second Jefferson calmly walked over to the original and merged with him in a shower of sparks. The one remaining Jefferson arched his back. Max heard a scream and saw the figure of Hayden being ejected from his back only to vanish into the darkness. "We all know that I'm the one that wins here."

"What have you done with Hayden?" Max asked.

"Relax, Maxine. I just put him back in his own body." Jefferson said. "He'll come to no harm, you have my word."

"Since when did your word count for anything?" Max snarled.

"I'm hurt, Maxine." Jefferson said in a tone that said he was actually more bored than anything. "If you remember, I've not actually straight-up lied to you. I could never find it in myself. If anything, it's you who lied to me. You said I would die for what I did and here I am more alive than ever."

"I'm not here to play word games." Max snapped. "I'm here to make good on my promise to you back in that darkroom."

"Then by all means, I want you to have the best chance." Jefferson said as he extended his hand. Suddenly Max felt the weight on her chest get pulled off. Somehow she knew what he'd done. He'd restored her rewind power.

"Why did you do that?" she asked, confused.

"I want you to have the best chance, Max." Jefferson told her. "Not that it matters anyway. Your defeat is inevitable." At that moment, Jefferson launched into a kick. Max just managed to sidestep and roll to the side. She knew she couldn't touch him. Since the flames were made of alternate realities, she wouldn't just get burned. Jefferson had used them to cause her power to backfire, so they might weigh her down again if she wasn't careful.

"What do I do?" she muttered to herself.

"Like I said, Max; I want you to have every chance." Jefferson said. Suddenly, the crystal room was gone. They were standing on the edge of the Arcadia Bay cliff where the lighthouse stood. The Jefferson that stood over her was clearly the same one she'd been fighting, but he wasn't covered by flames anymore. As Max watched it, history repeated itself.

"Maybe I was wrong about you." Max gasped as she tried to draw in air from where he'd just floored her in this reality.

"Am I finally getting through?" Not quite believing his apparent luck, Jefferson hauled her up and dusted her off before turning her to face him. "I'll treat you right, Max."

"I was wrong. You're not crazy." Max said. Jefferson picked her up as he'd done before and spun round in a wide circle before realising just how close he'd got to the edge of the cliff. He stepped back and put Max down before leaning in to kiss her. "You're a monster." Max said as she shoved him backwards. "It all has to end, to have never started." She stepped back just as she had before. As she did that, she extended her hand and started rewinding. To her relief, she was right about Jefferson giving her the power back. He retraced his steps, failing to grab Max since she'd stepped backwards.

As he got to the cliff edge again, Max went to kick him over as she'd done before. Before her foot could make impact with his back, he vanished into thin air. Suddenly, she felt the heel of his shoe connect with the back of her head just at the base of her skull. The dazing kick sent her staggering to her right before she caught her balance again. Jefferson could tell it was a good hit though. He knew she was dazed.

"Would you like me to slow down?" he asked. "I could slow it down if you want."

"Screw you." Max spat a mouthful of blood into her hand. She could hear Chloe's disembodied voice in her head.

" _Oh god, he's killing her_!"

"I'll defeat you if I have to do it fifty times over." Max said, regaining her balance.

"What do you mean fifty?" Jefferson asked. "I can make one copy for each alternate reality." As if to prove his point, identical copies of him started walking out from his primary form.

"We become many thousands..."

"...thousands..."

"...thousands..." The copies all started repeating the word after him, creating history's creepiest Mexican wave. Suddenly, one of them planted his foot into her spine. As she was thrown forwards, another one ran forwards and slammed his fist into her stomach. Finally, a third one ran forward and brought his elbow down between her shoulder blades. Max flopped forwards as the ground shifted. She managed to look up for long enough to see that they were back in the black crystal room. Gathering her strength, Max went to haul herself up again.

"Why do you do it, Maxine?" Jefferson asked, having re coupled with all of his mirror images. "Why would you get up again? Why would you keep fighting? Do you think you're fighting for something noble? Can you tell me what it is, or do you not know? Is it for those should-be-dead friends of yours, or do you maybe believe you're actually fighting for love? Max the reality you live in now is an artificial one. No, I don't mean it's virtual. But you made it by fragmenting me in the tornado. It came about by your hand and not a natural cause, therefore it's artificial. Things like love and friendship are mere tricks of the mind and weaknesses of the soul. Just ask the dead-and-buried Nathan Prescott from your true reality. He thought we were friends. He loved me like a father. He died for it. All those feelings are as artificial as the reality you ended up creating. Tell me Max, what do you have left to fight for?" Jefferson's voice had remained calm as a soft breeze throughout his whole rant, but his mask slipped badly as Max hauled herself up. When she spoke, her voice was just as calm.

"There's always something to fight for." The calmness of her stare unnerved him.

"This is my world!" he screamed as the flames around him ignited again. The sheer force of the ignition was enough to throw Max back into one of the crystal walls. As she gripped the wall to pull herself up, Max felt an aura radiating off it. On impulse, she pressed her hand to the wall and started to use her rewind on it. As she did, large cracks appeared in it. Max didn't understand what was going on, but clearly this wall was causing damage to its surroundings. What she was doing was causing it to be reversed. Being so mesmerised by the wall, she forgot to pay attention to things around her. Jefferson blasted into her from behind and proceeded to viciously smash her head against the wall repeatedly. Blood ran from her nose and forehead as she dropped to the ground fighting for consciousness.

"Jesus Christ, that hurt." Max gasped.

"Wait... I've seen this!" Jefferson muttered excitedly. "Yes, you were lying there just like that after just making the cracks in the wall. This is the end. And we all know that it all has to end to have never started, right Max?" Suddenly, Max's eyes snapped open again. Thinking pit-bull thoughts, she hauled herself up for what had to be the fifth time. "No, this isn't right! Why can't you just die?" Jefferson screamed. "Get the hell away from me!"

"You don't have to be afraid, Mark." Max said calmly. "You were right about everything."

"What are you saying?" Jefferson couldn't get over what he was hearing.

"We were only prolonging the inevitable." Max said. Jefferson advanced towards Max, splitting into numerous copies as he did so. They all surrounded Max, wrapping their arms around her in one big group hug. As they got to her, the flames around each of them died out. Suddenly, a radiant light surrounded Max. A scream of agony left her as she let Jefferson's darkness take her. Just then, the light surrounded each of the copies one by one. Max pulled herself together long enough to glare at the original as the light surrounded him to.

"No, this isn't how it's supposed to end!" he screamed. Jefferson had wanted to be sure it would work when he tried to absorb Max, so he'd used the copies to reinforce the process. In releasing them, he'd sealed his own fate by stripping away the defences each alternate reality offered him. The room's black crystal walls shattered, revealing a light around them like no other. Now it was Jefferson's turn to scream in agony as he and each of his copies exploded one-by-one in a shower of light and sparks. As the light consumed Max too, the last thought in her mind was exactly the same as it was in the tornado. Deep down, Max knew it would be the same if she had to die a hundred times.

' _I love you, Chloe_.'

 **Author's Note: Okay, no one panic! I will fix it, I promise! It might take a couple of chapters and a triple-update though, so bare with me!**


	11. Chapter 11: Gone

Chapter 11

 **Author's Note: Okay, so I did say I would triple-update. But since I've had no reviews I think I'll be evil and prolong your suffering. Mwahaha! I promised I would fix the issue of Max's fate at the end of the last chapter and I will, but it'll take me a bit longer than expected. Thanks to Onenightlive for being the only one to review with regards to whether she wanted the last chapter changing. Her vote was not to change it, so it stays the same by an overwhelming margin of one for and zero against and voting has now closed. I will reference the unintentional source material at the top of the chapter, so don't worry. Hope you enjoy this and please remember to review. It does mean a lot to me to hear what you think.**

"Hello, we're here to see a friend of ours." The hospital receptionist looked up to see two girls standing in front of her desk. One was clad in what was clearly designer clothing and was holding a bunch of flowers while the other looked like a fairly timid and shy girl with a silver cross necklace around her neck and was holding a massive card that had signatures all over it.

"Which friend are you here to see?" she asked smiling.

"Her name is Max Caulfield."

"What are your names please?" the receptionist got her pen ready.

"I'm Victoria Chase and this is Kate Marsh." Victoria said. The receptionist picked up the phone and dialled an extension number.

"Doctor Price, there are some visitors here for Miss Caulfield."

" _Chloe and Rachel took her outside for some fresh air. Tell them to leave any gifts by the desk and I'll take them up to her room for her._ "

"Just leave the gifts by the desk and Doctor Price will take them up." The receptionist got up and walked around to face the corridor in front of the girls. "Take a right and keep going until you see sunlight on the left and take that door. You'll find her in the back garden."

"Thank you." Kate said. She laid the card on the floor and Victoria put the flowers on top of it to stop them getting dirty. They walked in the direction the receptionist pointed until they got into the back garden. They had to shield their eyes against the harsh and perfect sunlight. Once they could see clearly again, the two girls noticed Max, Chloe and Rachel lying under the tree at the back. They ran over to say hi, only to find that something was wrong. Chloe and Rachel were lying on either side of Max. They were each gripping one of her hands tightly and holding each other at the same time. As Kate and Victoria reached them, they noticed that Max wasn't breathing.

Chloe noticed their arrival and looked up. Her eyes were red from crying and her face had tear streaks down it.

"She's gone." It was all Chloe could say before breaking down completely. Kate and Victoria wrapped her in a hug before bursting into tears as well. They held each other close, unable to find the right words. It wouldn't have mattered anyway. There were no words for that moment.

While they were distracted though, no one noticed Rachel lift her hand and focus on Max. This time, something different happened. Time didn't rewind, but her rewind power still activated. She pushed herself to breaking point until she couldn't do any more. Suddenly, something snapped inside her. The sensation was lost and she couldn't bring it back. Blood trickled from her nose as she realised that whatever she just did literally broke her rewind power. Although time hadn't rewound, she knew she'd done something. Whatever it was, she hoped Max would benefit from it somehow. She didn't know what, but something told her she'd just done the right thing.

With that done, Rachel moved over to the main group and wrapped Chloe in a hug from behind. She didn't know what she'd just done for Max or why she had the impulse to do it, but she did know the only other thing she could do for her was keep her promise. She'd promised to take care of Chloe, and from this day forward, that's what she was going to do.

At that moment, everyone looked up to see Ian running towards them. He reached them only to see what had happened. Chloe reached up and hugged him before he ran back inside. As far as he knew, the lapses in hospital care had just cost Max her life. His first priority was informing her family, and then he was going to crack down on this place so hard it would break backs.

Vanessa and Ryan were at the hotel when the phone rang. Vanessa picked it up, not realising this was to be the worst phone call of her life.

" _Hello, Mrs Caulfield? It's Doctor Price. I'm afraid I've got some terrible news_." Ryan watched as the expression on Vanessa's face shifted to one of horror before she burst into tears. Ryan grabbed the phone and held it to his ear.

"Who the hell is this?" he asked.

" _Mr Caulfield, this is Doctor Price. I'm afraid your daughter passed away in the hospital garden a few minutes ago._ " Ian's voice cut through Ryan's aggression like a knife through hot butter.

"Was it another attack?" he asked.

" _We don't know yet_." Ian told him. " _Chloe and Rachel were with her at the time, plus Kate Marsh and Victoria Chase had just arrived. I'll need to get witness statements from all of them. They won't be in any trouble. It's just to help us shed some light on the issue. Also, there's the matter of informing the school. I can type up an e-mail in no time, but if you want to let them know, I can respect that._ "

"Would you mind doing it?" Ryan asked, feeling numb.

" _That's not a problem. I'll get the statements and then put the e-mail together._ " Ian said. " _For what it's worth, I'm so, so sorry. I've all but moved in here now, and I won't rest until everything and everyone who falls short here is replaced_."

"Thank you, Ian." Ryan said. "You did what you could." With that, he put the phone down. A hushed silence fell over the room.

Back at the hospital, Chloe, Rachel, Victoria and Kate were all sat in a room with a table in the middle. It looked just like an interrogation room, but with slightly a friendlier atmosphere. Ian sat opposite them with some sheets of paper and some pens.

"Okay, I just want to make this apparent that this isn't an interrogation of any kind." That instantly made everyone tense. "The fact is that you were all by Max's side when I found out what happened to her. What I need to know is what you all know about the incident. I hate having to ask, but who wants to start talking first?"

"Max said she wanted to take a nap in the sun since the hospital beds were so uncomfortable." Rachel said. "Chloe and I were living on our nerves for four days because she was ill, so we decided to join her. When we woke up, she was gone."

"Chloe, can you confirm that?" Ian asked. Chloe nodded.

"She was alive when we all went to sleep. She just never woke up."

"Kate and Victoria, what can you tell me?" Ian asked, noting down what Rachel and Chloe had said.

"We can't say much." Kate said. "We arrived to find Rachel and Chloe each holding one of her hands and crying. She was gone before we got there." Kate suddenly burst into tears. To everyone's surprise, Victoria wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her in to comfort her.

"Do we have to do this now?" Victoria snapped. "We've all just lost someone precious to us. We don't need this right now!"

"Well, it's obvious you all know nothing towards helping determine what happened." Ian said. "You can all go. If any of you need anything, just ring this hospital and ask for me."

"We will; thanks." Victoria said as she pulled Kate from the room while glaring at Ian on the way out.

"I thought that went well." Ian muttered.

"They both just need time." Chloe said. "I think we all do. God, I've got to tell my parents now." As if on cue, Chloe's phone rang. She answered it only to hear David's voice.

" _Chloe, why is there a second sunroof in my truck_?" he asked in a venomous tone

"David, just get off my ass!" Chloe snapped, very nearly breaking down.

" _Chloe, you don't sound right? Are you okay_?" For once, Chloe heard David's rock-hard edge slip. She was unable to talk, so Rachel took the phone off her.

"David, we're coming home. We've got some really bad news." Rachel said before hanging up. She pulled Chloe to her feet before walking to the door. "Thanks for everything you did, Ian. For what it's worth, you really helped Max. Come on, Chloe. Let's go home."


	12. Chapter 12: Goodbyes

Chapter 12

The next day, a full school assembly was called at Blackwell. Students clamoured into the courtyard where chairs had been laid out. Voices danced through the air with gossip about what might be going on. Once everyone was seated, Principle wells took the microphone. Everyone shut up instantly. He didn't even need to ask for attention.

"Okay, I need everyone to listen closely." His voice carried over the audience and seemed to chill them to the bone. "This is rumour control. Here are the facts. We have just received confirmation that yesterday, on the eleventh of October; Max Caulfield sadly passed away. Out of respect to her family, we're holding back the full account. Max was a hard-working photography student who put love into everything she did. She would never have agreed to special treatment, or to be elevated above any other student. But we must acknowledge the loss we have all, as a community, suffered today. In these exceptional circumstances, classes have been cancelled for a week to give the school time to reorient itself. We are also starting a fund to the hospital that she was in. Blackwell is automatically donating three-thousand dollars, and any student wishing to add to that may do so freely."

Once Wells had finally finished talking, everyone went back to their dorms, or was allowed to get their stuff and go home. Unable to face what was happening, Warren just collapsed onto his bed. Strangled sobs escaped his chest. When Max was in hospital, he'd been the only one to send her flowers. Chloe and Rachel were visiting every day, so that was okay, but it was only yesterday that Kate and Victoria took flowers to her with the card, and they got there too late. Was it just him, or was Max really cared about that little? It disgusted him. Why did people used to judge her from afar? If they'd tried talking to her, they'd have seen how different she was on the inside. With dark thoughts clouding him, Warren cried himself to sleep.

Victoria Chase sat on her bed with her head in her hands and tears streaming down her face. She looked up to see Kate Marsh standing in the doorway in a state that wasn't much better than her own. Without a word, Victoria beckoned her over. She sat next to her in an awkward silence.

"I'm going to change." Victoria said suddenly.

"Do you want me to wait outside?" Kate asked, getting up to leave.

"No Kate, I mean I'm going to change as a person." Victoria corrected herself. "I just- I wasted the time I knew Max being nothing but horrible to her. Granted, I didn't think she was going to get ill and die so suddenly. No one saw that coming. But that's no excuse. I should have been a better person. I could have had a great friend in her, and despite all the crap I threw at her she never once retaliated. She just sat there taking it as though it did nothing. I can't help but wonder if that's part of the reason why this happened. Whether the stress I put her under caused this."

"Victoria, did you not see the state she was in when we found her?" Kate asked. "There's no way that was just stress. There was something else going on. Whatever it was though, God can sort it out. But we were truly blessed to know her for the time we did. I know that when the principle just announced her death, everyone felt physically sick. There are very few people here who'll carry on being the same person they were before now."

"Come here." Victoria said as she laid herself down on her bed.

"What are you doing?" Kate asked.

"I think right now, we're both worn out." Victoria sighed as her body relaxed for the first time in over a day. Kate went to join her but suddenly stopped. She grabbed the chain on the crucifix round her neck before unclipping it and tucking it in her breast pocket. "Now what are you doing?" Victoria asked.

"I don't want to strangle myself." Kate said as she lay down alongside her. "To be honest, I don't know if I'll put it back on when I wake up." A shocked look crossed Victoria's face. "It's only for a few days." Kate said quickly. I want to speak to the priest at church this Sunday. I have more than a few questions to ask him."

"Kate Marsh, are you turning your back on your faith?" Victoria asked.

"No, I just... I don't know right now." Kate said. "I'm confused since Max's death. My mother always said God didn't kill without good reason. What had Max done that deserved anything like what she got? In my opinion, she was one of the most kind-hearted, dedicated and hard working people I knew."

"Whatever you decide, I'm here for you." Victoria told her. "To put it simply, I want to help you. For the first time in my life I genuinely want to help people. It feels great."

"It'll feel even better once you start doing it." Kate replied. "Trust me on that. Thanks though, Victoria. I truly feel like there's some hope for the pair of us. I hope we both find the answers we're looking for." With that, the two girls held each other close before drifting off into a sleep that they knew would be haunted by heart-wrenching dreams.

The news from Chloe's house wasn't much better. Chloe was a wreck. She'd barely moved from her bed all of yesterday and today. Rachel hadn't left her side except to get her food and water. The rest of the time, she just lay there cradling Chloe in her arms. It was just before supper that Chloe dared to open her eyes and face the world.

"How are you feeling?" Rachel asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Chloe looked like she was barely clinging to any will to live. Rachel hugged her closer and planted a kiss on her forehead. "Rachel, I want to go to the junkyard." Chloe said.

"Okay." Rachel replied slowly, not knowing why Chloe would say that so randomly. "Go get a shower and then we'll go down there."

"Yeah, that's fine." Chloe said, getting up and going to pull Rachel with her.

"What are you doing?" Rachel asked.

"You never said I was showering alone." Chloe winked.

The girls pulled up at the junkyard two hours later. Chloe and Rachel got out from Chloe's truck and started walking. Rachel followed Chloe, who didn't have the strength to tell her to stay in the truck this time. Enough was enough. Her final hurdle would be removed today.

Eventually, the girls reached the shallow stream at the edge of the junkyard. Reaching into her pocket, Chloe pulled out the bag of grass substitute she'd got from rehab. Before Rachel could stop her, she'd thrown it into the river, watching as it was carried away.

"What the hell did you do that for?" Rachel asked. "You need that to stop you having withdrawals!"

"No, I don't." Chloe said. "I needed to get rid of it so I wouldn't mentally collapse. I've spent the last twenty-four hours hiding from the world and feeling like everything out there was evil. As you were holding me, I realised the evil wasn't outside at all. It was in my back pocket waiting to be smoked to prevent me from falling into a negative state of mind. I'm going to be feeling so crap over losing Max for at least a few months. But provided you're with me, I'll barely notice it's even gone."

"Chloe Price, I'll never leave you." Rachel said as she wrapped her arms around Chloe's neck and kissed her gently. "I love you."

"I love you too." Chloe replied lovingly. A hushed silence fell over them as they both looked at the grey clouds overhead. The one above them seemed to break open in the centre, letting a tiny ray of sunlight shine through which bathed the girls in a radiant light. Rachel held Chloe tighter, feeling a warm energy rise inside her.

"Chloe, I didn't get to know Max nearly as well as I hoped, but there is something I did know about her." Rachel's tone completely changed. "When everything in her world was going dark, there was still one bright shining light that she looked to for strength. Just the fact that she was there, was more help than any hospital."

"Who was it?" Chloe asked.

"It was you." Rachel told her. A sad smile spread across Chloe's face. "We may not like it, Chloe; but we can't deny that life has changed."


	13. Epilogue

Epilogue

 **Author's Note: This is the final part of Life has Changed. I hope you've had as much of a great time reading it as I've had writing it.**

She'd been travelling through the void for hours. That is if it hadn't been days or weeks yet. Time seemed to blend together in the void. The only thing she knew was that she wasn't quite as dead as she thought. After what felt like an eternity, the light finally subsided around her. Suddenly, she realised she was five feet off the ground. She hit with a dull thud, only to have to spring up quickly at the sound of a passing truck cutting dangerously close to her. As it passed, it kicked up a shower of bright red sand which choked her half to death.

The first thing she registered was the heat. It was absolutely scorching. The second thing she noticed was that she was thankfully fully clothed and everything was in her pockets. She pulled out her phone. The temperature was well over a hundred degrees in the shade. Looking off into the distance, she saw an old house by the side of the road. It didn't look too inviting, but the people there could tell her where she was and she could maybe ask them for water.

Walking there took the girl about half an hour. She'd been on a slight hill when she spotted the house, but even though it was barely any distance, she could do little more than crawl along under the desert heat. When she finally made it, she didn't even get chance to knock on the door before it opened. A young looking girl stood there looking slightly angry.

"Please tell me it wasn't you opening the gate and letting one of our horses out!" she growled. Then she looked at the girl properly. Red sand was stuck in her hair and clothes. Her jeans had been ripped in multiple places and patched with black duct tape. She looked like she'd been without food or water for weeks.

"What's going on, Ellie?" a woman's voice asked. She appeared behind her before seeing the girl on the doorstep and gasping. "Come inside, dear." The girl was pulled inside and sat down at a table while the woman ordered her daughter to get her some water. She drank greedily from the cup placed in front of her before turning to the woman once she could speak again.

"Where am I?" she asked. "Who are you?"

"You'll be okay. You're on our land now." The younger girl sat down at the table with her. "I'm Ellie, and this is my mother Chen."

"What's your name, sweetie?" Chen asked. The girl hesitated before replying.

"My name is Max Caulfield."

 **Episode 1: End!**

 **Author's Note: Special Announcement! Life has Changed Episode 2- Coming Soon!**


End file.
